If you’re a writer (or any creator), you probably know this to be true. You’ve likely tried to accept feedback in a bid to improve your work. But I’m willing to bet that every time someone doesn’t like what you wrote or produced, it stings. And it’s personal, too.
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I’ve always been really sensitive to criticism, which is something I’ve been trying to work on considering this industry is all about criticism. I’ve gotten much, much better at accepting it when it’s given to me, but sometimes it’s still a little hard not to take it super personally. Criticism is incredibly valuable to everyone, but especially to us as creatives. One of the frustrating things can be when you feel differently about the criticism you’ve received. For example, I’ve learned to do things certain ways, ways that are standard to me now, but all places have different ways of operating. If the company I’m working for feels differently about what I consider standard, it might be annoying to put my thoughts aside to please them. On the other hand, and something which is much more common, criticism can make you a much better designer and technician. I love learning new, better, and easier ways to do things when someone corrects my practices. I’m a crier, though, and sometimes just the situation of someone criticizing me makes me cry, even if I’m grateful for their input.
I think the biggest thing with criticism, especially in artistic fields like theatre, is that it can in a lot of ways hit too close to home because as artists, we can get very personally tied into what we create which makes it an uncomfortable conversation, but with that said, I think you can improve your artistic vision and style by being open to criticism. The most prevalent point in this article to me is the overarching idea of learning when to trust your own judgement but accept that you are not always right. Off of this point, I think it is important to make sure you genuinely consider constructive criticism because it is said to help benefit you, but also understand that it is not law. As the article mentions, you won’t be able to please everyone, but if you are creating work that you see (through benchmarked results) and feel is successful then you will create work that you are passionate about. Criticism is meant to help you, even if it at first doesn’t seem that way, and any piece of criticism should evoke some sort of thought or feeling, even if that thought or feeling is in disagreeance with the critic.
I think that the biggest reason is was so intrigued to read this article was because of the fact that it was dealing with something that has been, for the longest time, an internal battle for me.
Criticism is a very natural part of life; people do things and then those things are up for either appreciation or criticism. And as desirable as appreciation is, criticism is equally unwanted but also integral to one's development, which honestly speaking is very frustrating.
But I am also aware of the fact, as this article clearly points out to, is that criticism is very important for a person because constructive criticism is what enables people to see the potential that their creation lacks and that they can help achieve with the right mindset. But more often than not, criticism tends to not be in a way where it can help someone; rather it is used in a way to put others down, which is a very reality of life.
But if the mindset is right, even this kind of criticism can potentially help one to make something good out of it.
I have been told by supervisors that I take criticism well in a collaborative working environment, but I still believe that it’s a skill that I should be actively improving. I’ve noticed while working with others that criticism can be received by some in a negative light, and they become defensive as a response. Over the years, I’ve found a way to internalize my own response, so that it’s not visible on the outside. I think that forcing myself to practice that helps me to really believe that it’s constructive, but there is much work to do to take it less personally. As I’ve been in more production environments, especially ones that are educational, it’s a good reminder that criticism is given to encourage the person to create better work, as the article states. It’s a good reminder from the article to understand deeply that not everyone is going to be pleased with what you do, because of human nature and that people have different experiences and outlooks. Being reassured by these pieces of advice is nice, because it helps me to realize that my thoughts are normal and okay!
Every artist knows they will face criticism in their life, and yet I think every artist has a hard time accepting it. I think getting comfortable with criticism in a professional theatre setting and in an educational setting is very different. Criticism in an educational setting is often from professors and people who are helping you learn so that criticism is really meant to help you improve your craft so one would think that it would be easier to accept then criticism in the professional world. But I think criticism at school is much harder to get comfortable with because often a grade is coming out of it as well. And the criticism is usually coming from a professor who you may look up to and their opinion probably matters a lot more to you than someone you have never met. Criticism in the professional world is often not constructive criticism and is just someone’s opinion. The most important part of learning to get comfortable with that is really accepting that you can’t please everyone.
This article touches on something that I think is really important, although it doesn't go into a lot of detail about the particular point. Everybody knows that accepting and incorporating criticism is essential to improving work, whether creative or otherwise. The article touches on the slightly less discussed aspect of this: that you have to trust yourself sometimes too. What's really difficult, though, is figuring out when to listen to yourself and when to lsiten to others. You can't do both all the time, and sometimes it's very difficult to make a choice if something makes a lot of sense to you, or you think it's really good, and someone else is telling you that they don't get it. Sometimes this is solved with a third opinion, but sometimes it isn't. I think one of the most difficult things to learn is that balancing act. Not just that you have to incorporate criticism or that you have to listen to yourself, but when to weigh which factor more heavily.
I used to think I took criticism really well, but now I think it depends on what's being critique. Most of my experience with criticism has been more focused on academic work than art, so hearing critiques of my art has been a little more difficult than I had anticipated. I think that art is so much more personal to me than anything I've done academically, which makes it much harder to hear criticism about it. But, I've gotten much better over the past few months and I've realized how important it really is to develop a tolerance and a sensitivity to criticism. Being able to accept and act upon critique is really important in theatre. Everything we do in theatre is so constantly changing, which makes it so important to listen and accept an opportunity to change your art and mindset.
I think receiving criticism can be difficult for everyone. I know that I struggle a lot when it comes to harsh criticism especially when it comes from someone whose opinion I truly value and respect. Over the years, I have improved my reactions in response to criticism. However, I still struggle a bit when someone has a comment about my work that I don't necessarily agree with. I often get very defensive when it comes to my work especially if I'm trying to convey a message that I believe is coming through clearly, but not so much to the audience which where I need to do some work on myself. I think that this article is extremely helpful in breaking down the different ways to soften the blow that criticism comes at you with. I'd like to think that in a way, I have already begun to put some of these tips into practice, but the way each tip is written out, really makes it easier to sort of rethink the way I react to criticism in ways that I may not have realized.
This article was really at the base level. The suggestions, although valid, are all things we have heard 20 times before. That being said it's a good reminder, especially for when we graduate from college. Most of the criticism I get these days is for an educational purpose. The goal of the person giving the criticism is for me to improve based on the feedback. In the real world sometimes criticism is not always constructive. Something that I think is hard when receiving criticism is not taking a defense or making an excuse. I also think as time goes on opinions change and shift and something that was stunning 20 years ago may not be today. I think criticism of old work is interesting because it is easy to blame your younger self. This contrasts with what people do when their older work is praised. Overall, we know a lot about accepting feedback. The question is whether we can effectively put it into practice.
Figuring out how to voice and take feedback is a challenge that I’m sure I’ll be plagued with for the rest of my life. Figuring out what feedback to take and not take is also a challenge as the author stated. I liked the quote that just because somebody doesn’t like your work, it doesn’t mean it’s bad. I’ve seen all sorts of techniques attempted for trying to give feedback, like sandwiching the critical feedback in between two compliments. The most important thing for giving feedback in my opinion is offering a solution. If you say “I don’t like it,” that doesn’t tell the person why or what they should change to improve it for the future. Phrasing things in a positive light is certainly an effective way to give that feedback and giving a reason to back it up is incredibly helpful. It’s so hard when you’ve put your heart and time into a piece of work and not have it land the way you want it to.
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